MOVIE REVIEW: Family ties come undone in unappetizing 'Dinner'

Friday

May 5, 2017 at 7:00 AM

Despite a cast that includes Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Hall, “The Dinner” is a bloated five-course course in discourse with the subject being what's the matter with kids today.

By Al Alexander/For The Patriot Ledger

Get a table, seat Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Hall around it; then serve them a script by Oscar-nominated writer Oren Moverman. What could go wrong? Well, how about a lot? That, in a nutshell, is “The Dinner,” a bloated five-course course in discourse with the subject being what’s the matter with kids today. And by “kids,” I mean anyone with an infantile brain, which in the age of lowbrow high-tech means just about everyone. Certainly, it encompasses everyone in Overman’s misguided translation of Dutchman Herman Koch’s best-selling novel about race, class and abominable parenting.

The book was pure satire. The movie is something quite different. And what gets lost in the translation is Koch’s biting wit. In Americanizing the author’s prose, Overman has said he felt the need to “dramatize” the material. You know, take it more seriously. And, it’s deadly, as in dull. The only thing that keeps it remotely watchable is the writer-director’s fantastic ensemble, which also includes Chloe Sevigny, seen in the film’s excessive use of disorienting flashbacks meant to raise the stakes, not distract. But distract they do, slowly eroding “The Dinner’s” early promise of black humor and clever turn of phrase.

In fact, the opening scenes of Coogan and Linney – as Paul and Claire Lohman – getting ready for a potentially volatile night out with Paul’s estrange, congressman brother, Stan (Gere), and Stan’s brand-new trophy wife (and ex-campaign aide), Katelyn (Hall), are electrifying. Even when Paul and Claire arrive at Stan’s chichi restaurant of choice, the laughs come fast and furious, with Coogan’s diehard misanthrope, Paul, firing off subtle digs at both his shameless glad handing brother (You can stop smiling now; it’s just us.”) and the pompous maître d’ (Michael Chernus), telling the latter, “We don’t have thyme for rosemary” when offered a spicy appetizer.

Then, the serious, weighty issues set in, triggering dozens of discombobulated flashbacks jumping to and fro from a decade earlier to just days ago. We even take a side trip with Paul and Stan to Gettysburg so Overman can hammer us over the head with the brother-vs-brother analogy. The Civil War (which Paul, a history teacher, is obsessed with) also becomes a recurring theme throughout an evening that takes the combatants outdoors to the patio and various rooms inside the restaurant, leaving one to wonder if they’re capable of ever sitting down in one place for longer than 5 minutes.

After about an hour of this pretentious maneuvering – and tempting shots of each delicious-looking course being served – we finally learn why we’re all here. And that would be Paul and Stan’s undisciplined, 16-year-old sons, Michael (Charlie Plummer) and Rick (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), respectively. Through the flashbacks, we learn that they’ve committed an unspeakable act they’ve recorded and posted to Facebook. Only their parents know their identities, but like most creeps – the marathon bombers come to mind – it’s only a matter of time before somebody squeals. So what to do: keep quiet and hope it blows over, or do the more honorable thing and have the kids turn themselves in and employ the old affluenza defense? The ensuing fight is initially intriguing, mainly because the arguments over for and against go completely against our expectations of each character. But like everything in “The Dinner,” it goes on too long; enough that you eventually begin to tune out. Overman (“The Messenger”) also constantly tests credulity, mainly because much of his dialogue sounds stagey and too on-the-nose.

Give him credit, though, for making strong points about how America refuses to recognize mental illness as a disease every bit as serious and rampant as cancer. We even hear Stan discussing his pet bill to beef up mental health benefits in the Affordable Care Act. Yes, “The Dinner” deserves kudos for timeliness, both in the arguments over Obamacare and the posting of violent crimes to Facebook by narcissistic killers, but what’s missing is any context or empathy. You really, really hate every character, with the possible exception of – gulp – the politician. Imagine that? But at a grueling two hours, this is one “Dinner” best left on the plate. THE DINNER (R for language and disturbing images.) Cast includes Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall and Chloe Sevigny. Grade: C